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Much in the way that Aldous Huxley wrote “Brave New World Revisited,” I am returning to Stonemaier Games “Euphoria” years after my initial review, to see how the game (and my review) stands the test of time. So, Hearken back to the days of yesteryear, when Dystopia was still in the future and Gametrayz were a luxury and not a liability.
My adventures with Euphoria has been an actual adventure. I wrote my initial review in 2019 and the game became a gaming group favorite. We would break it out about once a month, by request of one player or another, and I was always happy to play it. However, one day I went to retrieve it from my game shelf and it was....gone. Did someone take it? Did I misplace it? I like to think that the game gained sentience and, like the workers in the game whose knowledge gets too high, ran away and escaped it's dystopian life. Of course, there is no lack of naive, shrink-wrapped versions of Euphoria to exploit...err...explore. So, I recently re-acquired a copy and decided to look at it through the lens of a few years of additional gaming.
In my original review, I refer to Euphoria as a medium-weight Euro. I think I'd now refer to it as a light weight Euro with a nice asterisk at the end...the asterisk denoting that while it is light, it is not introduction-euro-game-for-your-group light. Despite having a simple choice of place a worker/take all your workers back driving the game, the tracks that move you on other tracks aspect can make it look a bit daunting. And the knowledge aspect of the workers (Every time you remove worker or workers, you must re-roll them. If their “Knowledge” totals are equal to or greater than 16, your most knowledgeable (aka highest) worker runs away) is so opposed to the typical “Get as many workers out and do it as soon as possible” found in most worker placement games, it's not a great jumping on point for a group looking to explore a typical light Euro.
Additionally, like Scythe, the ending condition of “Place 10 influence stars” doesn't mean that, if you are the first one to do it, you will actually win the game. Sure, it's a small hurdle to jump but if that isn't made clear when teaching the game, it can be a point of contention when the game ends.
Euphoria has one of my favorite mechanisms with “Bumpable” spots. Much like the venerable Hansa Teutonica, bumping an opponent off of a space provides that player with a perk in that they don't have to spend an action to retrieve them. At the same time, that player must re-roll that worker, which might cause them to lose them if their Knowledge level is too high. So, it lacks that gut twisting decision space Hansa Teutonica has where you know the opposing player is getting something good and replaces it with they will get a worker back but could possibly lose it on a “bad” roll.
Euphoria also uses a “You didn't help, you get a penalty” mechanism. I can't say that I really like this type interaction but, at the same time, I do sometimes see the need for it. The game does allow you to remove the negative impact by helping after the fact. Now, if there was just a way to get people in real life to admit they were part of the problem and transition them over to being part of the solution, that is a Euphoria I could get behind.
I mentioned the tracks in Euphoria and, after repeated plays, it does become somewhat obvious what players have what hidden recruits by the tracks they choose to advance. Unlocking Recruit powers and getting new recruits is one of the keys to winning in Euphoria. The decision space of the Ethical Dilemma cards (postured as “Do something selfish and aid the fascist state” or “Do something to resist ICE...err...the fascist state”) basically comes down to “Do I want to push for the quicker game end” or “Do I want to prolong the game to hopefully get more powers/points.” One of the knocks I have seen about Euphoria is that it lacks theme or doesn't really convey it. This I really have to disagree with. The previously mentioned Ethical Dilemma cards hit way too close to home with “Publish an Expose/Publish Propaganda” taking on a whole new meaning in the social media world we live in. And the simple “Help a friend escape/Turn in a friend” is as cold as a Minnesota morning in January. Also kicking in the Dystopian setting is the “Roll Doubles” bonus, where your workers are more efficient if they simply match (CONFORM!) the others around them (OBEY!). The market scarcity in-game that is based solely on where you are located is another totalitarian nod. In a world where a majority of people still buy into the “I will be able to live in Icarus if I work hard 80 hours a week, don't buy avocado toast, and we don't tax and/or eat the rich.” Euphoria's bleak, sardonic take might be just a little too spot on. It's almost like the feeling of playing Pandemic during COVID.
Despite being almost exclusively about cube pushing, I've really enjoyed my return to Euphoria. Well, except that bit where you awaken workers with cold water... we should abolish Ice baths.
A review copy of this release was provided by the publisher. Therewillbe.games would like to thank them for their support.
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